#49. The Mist - Review (kind of)

The Mist - Poster (minimilist)The Mist is damn near perfect. You are not going to get an actual review out of me because I am incapable of saying a bad word about this film. One of the few truly great Stephen King adaptations, The Mist uses the source material as a base of inspiration, but quickly proves its ambitions far exceeded even King’s short story. I love everything about Frank Darabont’s 2007 B-movie masterpiece. It was on my list of top-10 of the last decade (#6) and is one of my all time favorite horror films.

It is the quintessential monster movie, expertly juxtaposing the abominations that are crawling around in the mist against the vile human beings that are hiding out in the small Maine supermarket trying to avoid them. Harking back to the atomic-horror films of the 40s and 50s, Darabont wears his inspirations on his sleeve, going so far as to including a perfectly pitched military conspiracy and the crazed theorists that support it.

Also, and if you have seen The Mist you will know what I am talking about, but I would argue that the “pharmacy” scene is perhaps my favorite 10-minutes in a mainstream horror film since Randy tried to cop-a-feel on the raft in Creepshow 2.  It is intense scary fun, with every jump and scream earned with solid special effects and fantastic performances from the likes of Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones, William Sadler, and the tragically underworked Andre Braugher. Fans of King or Darabont will find a lot to love with this film, and movie fans that have yet to experience The Mist should do themselves a favor and check it out as soon as possible. If you cannot tell, I think it is pretty good.

The Mist monster art